The Konark Sun Temple

Twenty-four giant stone wheels once told the time of day, carved onto a temple shaped like a chariot. This article covers the Konark Sun Temple, its design, its builder, and its long afterlife as a symbol.

The Sun God’s Chariot

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13TH CENTURY CE

Narasimhadeva I Builds the Temple

The Eastern Ganga Dynasty ruler commissions it at Konark

24 WHEELS

A Temple Shaped Like a Chariot

Twelve pairs of stone wheels carry the Sun God’s chariot form

FUNCTIONAL DESIGN

The Wheels Work as Sundials

Their spokes cast shadows that mark the time of day

1984 CE

UNESCO World Heritage Status

Its single wheel later becomes a national and G20 symbol

The long arc: Konark’s builders folded a working sundial into a monumental sculpture, so the temple’s art and its function were never really separate ideas.

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Timeline

• 13th century CE: King Narasimhadeva I of the Eastern Ganga Dynasty builds the Sun Temple at Konark, Odisha.
• At construction: The temple takes the form of a giant stone chariot, carried by 24 carved wheels and horses.
• Functional design: Each wheel’s spokes cast a shadow that can be read to tell the time of day.
• 1984 CE: UNESCO declares the Sun Temple a World Heritage Site.

Must Know

• The Konark Sun Temple stands in Odisha. King Narasimhadeva I of the Eastern Ganga Dynasty built it in the 13th century CE.
• The temple is designed as a colossal chariot, carrying the Sun God Surya across the sky.
• It carries 12 pairs of stone-carved wheels, 24 wheels in total, each roughly 9 feet 9 inches across.
• Each wheel’s spokes function as a working sundial. Their shadows can be read to tell the time of day.
• The temple was declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1984.

Good to Know

• European sailors nicknamed the temple the “Black Pagoda,” because of its dark stone. They used it as a navigation landmark along India’s eastern coast.
• One interpretation reads the temple’s 24 wheels as representing the 24 hours of the day. Another reads each pair as one month of the year.
• The temple belongs to the late Kalingan architectural style, a regional variant distinct from the broader Nagara and Dravida temple traditions.
• A single Konark wheel has become a recognisable symbol in its own right. It appears on India’s currency, and was chosen as the emblem for India’s 2023 G20 presidency.

Test Yourself

Please wait…

1. Which Eastern Ganga Dynasty king built the Konark Sun Temple in the 13th century CE?

Anantavarman Chodaganga

Narasimhadeva I

Bhanudeva I

Kapilendra Deva

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Great to Know

• Building a working sundial into a monumental sculpture shows something real. Konark’s architects treated art and function as one problem, not two layered separately.
• A nickname coined by foreign sailors, the “Black Pagoda,” became attached to the temple’s own history. Outsiders’ descriptions can shape a monument’s lasting identity.
• A single wheel, extracted from its original chariot design, carries enough visual weight to stand alone as a national symbol. This holds true centuries after its functional purpose was mostly forgotten.
• Choosing a 13th-century temple wheel as a 21st-century G20 emblem shows something deliberate. India links its diplomatic image to a much older, specifically regional, artistic legacy.